Wheels within wheels.
News Corp's $2 billion takeover proposal for James Packer's Consolidated Media Holdings and its soon to be confirmed acquisition of Alan Kohler's digital business news and commentary boutique, Australian Independent Business Media, is, like Fairfax media's big restructuring, all about speeding up the move away from print.
For James Packer meanwhile, it's all about casinos.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/murdoch-packer-do-the-shuffle-20120620-20n8r.html#ixzz1yJHDiXer
Alan Kohler's????

Back in 2007 on Media Watch, Monica Attard asked an interesting question:

How big will Alan Kohler's outside business interests get, before the ABC can't ignore that potential [for a conflict of interest]?

The answer is: as much as $8 million and counting.

As a result of the acquisition by News Limited of Australian Independent Business Media, the publishers of business news websites Business Spectator and the Eureka Report, the Australian business media yesterday became less independent.

According to the Business Spectator website: "AIBM has accepted a takeover offer from News Corporation Ltd for an undisclosed amount."

Crikey has estimated the deal to be worth $30 million overall (paywalled), with $8 million to Kohler. Kohler has also taken a job with the multinational media corporation as part of the deal. He now works for News Limited.

There is now an obvious conflict of interest between Kohler's role at the ABC and the interests of his new employer. Kohler serves two masters. He cannot, by definition, be independent.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4084362.html?WT.svl=theDrum

THE ABC's finance guru, Alan Kohler, has come under fire on the national broadcaster's own website over an apparent conflict of interest between his nightly TV news spot and his new role with media giant News Limited.

Kohler is to continue his slot during the ABC's 7pm bulletin, following the sale of the Australian Independent Business Media empire he runs with partners Robert Gottliebsen and Stephen Bartholomeusz to News for $30 million.

Writing on the ABC's The Drum website, freelance journalist Ben Eltham - who declared his own conflict of interest as a contributor to the Crikey website run by AIBM part-owner Eric Beecher - said that Kohler's role at News ''undermine[s] the independence and integrity of the ABC's editorial content''.
''He now works for the ABC's main competitor. This is an open and shut case,'' he said.

Also writing on The Drum, the ABC's director of news, Kate Torney, said Kohler's work for an outside organisation did not prevent him working for the national broadcaster and any potential conflicts of interest would be managed ''in an appropriate way''.

An ABC spokesman did not respond to The Age's request for more detail of when disclosure would be required under the organisation's conflict of interest policy

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/abcs-kohler-embroiled-in-conflict-of-interest-claims-20120621-20qv4.html#ixzz1yUHkeQMn

News Limited has made its first job cuts, less than a week after announcing plans for a company restructure.

The company says 115 positions will go from newsrooms, library and support services.

The ACTU says the company has broken its promise to consult fully with the unions before taking action.

The journalists' union, the MEAA, says News Limited suddenly announced to staff late yesterday that up to 70 jobs would go from its digital media section.

And AM understands that about 30 staff at the Cairns Post and the Townsville and Gold Coast Bulletins have been told their jobs will go.

When News Limited announced its restructure last week, ACTU secretary Dave Oliver was optimistic the company would consult with the unions before cutting jobs.

But now his view has changed.

"Well it's a very disturbing development," he said.

"We're clearly of the view that consultation is engaging with relevant parties before a decision is taken.

"And we're extremely disappointed that their view of consultation is one about taking a decision and then informing people after the fact."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-27/first-news-limited-job-cuts-announced/4094882

Meanwhile regarding the Alan Kohler situation (see comment above): I post here a repeat comment from John Richardson:

There’s no doubt about ‘our ABC’.

Good old Auntie has no problem ignoring the obvious conflict of interest inherent in its latest in-house millionaire, Alan Kolher, being allowed to continue editorialising on the ABC evening news bulletin, without disclosing his potential conflict of interest.

Whilst Auntie’s conflicts of interest policy is clearly defective, the blatant hypocrisy demonstrated by its management in exempting one of its ‘star’ performers from compliance, stands in marked contrast to their efforts to intimidate & punish casual ABC employee, Suzanne McGill, who was stood down, denied work & publicly humiliated for having the temerity to try & earn a living at the ABC’s pleasure.

Disgusting.

"Just have a look at our assets though ... if you didn't want to own The Australian, there would be something wrong with you. It is absolutely the go-to newspaper in this country."

News Corp's chief executive until last year, Kim Williams, has rejected suggestions he is the source of the leak.

He has also poured cold water on the current management's suggestion that things have improved since.

"I'd be very surprised if the trends have not continued, because the trends were pretty indelible when I arrived at the company," he said.

Media academic Associate Professor David McKnight, who has authored a book about Mr Murdoch, says News Corp is being "extraordinarily hypocritical".

"Coming from a media company that frequently publishes leaks, you really only have to imagine what News Corp would do if they had their hands on an equivalent document on Fairfax's internal operations, it would have been spread all over the front page with half a dozen gloating articles inside," he said.

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-21/crikey-to-destroy-leaked-accounts-showing-news-corp-decline/5687988

Kim Williams should know. See toon at top...

From Kim Williams

During my time at News Corporation there were frequent frustrating leaks, much like the one this week, a comprehensive set of numbers on the company's Australian enterprises.

The leak, published in Crikey, was different only in that the material contained substantial unfiltered data which showed a whole picture rather than the selective briefing process of my day. I haven't reviewed the numbers since I left News in August 2013, but I imagine they reveal much which has been suspected as to trends in the media.  

Inevitably the commentary about the data threw brickbats about my period as chief executive running the Australian company. I described the commentary from News Corporation as a festival of vengeance. However, I do not resile from any of the reforms I initiated (many of which have been abandoned or reversed). Those reforms followed exhaustive analysis and detailed discussion. The decisions were also transparent to the chain of command. I shan't go on as it would sound defensive, which I don't need to be.

The commentary misses the point. Also sadly at its core, it repeats a denialist attitude to major behavioural and consumption change for news and information in all media. This is consumer driven and technology enabled. I find this denialism as perplexing now as I did when I was in that chief executive seat. 

In my forthcoming book, Rules of Engagement, I emphasise that as a result of digital technology many of the old paradigms and power constructs are breaking down or are already broken. The internet has no respect for the establishment and is a furiously strong levelling agent. New models in all things are becoming commonplace. 

This is something of utmost relevance to all media companies and saying that it isn't so will not change it. Print news media is, over the medium term, profoundly challenged economically. The numbers will reach a point where the high fixed costs simply make no sense and are not sustainable. Rhetoric won't win the day. I believe that a crunch point may be closer than many think – certainly the horizon in years is probably a single digit number. 

Interesting to note that Kim Williams is published in The Sydney Morning Herald and not in The Australian...